Three weeks after he was fired from Grey's Anatomy for choking Patrick Dempsey and calling T.R. McKnight a "******" (both incidents occurred on set), Isaiah Washington tells Newsweek he was fired not because he was a violent, bigoted douchebag, but because he was black. Here are a few excerpts from the interview:
I apologized and showed my remorse for what I said and for the pain I caused anyone. If a black man can't get forgiveness in this country, when so many other people like Robert Downey Jr. and the governor of California get second and third chances ... I think that says a lot about race and this country where we stand."
"Well, it didn't help me on the set that I was a black man who wasn't a mush-mouth Negro walking around with his head in his hands all the time. I didn't speak like I'd just left the plantation and that can be a problem for people sometime. I had a person in human resources tell me after this thing played out that 'some people' were afraid of me around the studio. I asked her why, because I'm a 6-foot-1, black man with dark skin and who doesn't go around saying 'Yessah, massa sir' and 'No sir, massa' to everyone?"
"My mistake was believing that I would get the support from my network and all of my cast mates across the board. My mistake was believing I could correct a wrong with honesty and sincerity. My mistake was thinking black people get second chances. I was wrong on all fronts."
I'm sorry, I cannot believe that Mr. Washington would actually try to use the "race card" as a means of thinking he should have been "cut some slack" in Hollywood for using homosexual slurs. He actually said his mistake was thinking black people get second chances??? That comment alone was racist in my opinon because I don't feel that any color of people should be treated differently and that would include being given "second chances". I was raised colorblind by my parents as far as race is concerned and one of my dearest friends is a homosexual so I was infuriated when I read this. I don't use slurs of any kind because of my raising and if I did I wouldn't expect to receive special favors if I were one who could be on the receiving end of one who yet used one for another...I hope that made sense but I doubt that it did.
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